Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Atlus' new tactical RPG excels thanks to solid gameplay and a dash of creativity. Read Review

Pronounced "Dis-Gay-Uh", Hour of Darkness is an uncanny amalgam of both traditional and unconventional RPG staples. Telling the tale of the self-absorbed Prince Laharl, Disgaea moves away from the typical "heroes of light" setting, and replaces it with a demon-infested netherworld. Awoken after a two-year slumber, Laharl is stunned to learn of his father King Krichevskoy's death and the massive civil war for the throne that has followed. The rightful heir and all-around egocentric bastard that he is, Laharl isn't about to lose his birthright without a fight, and it's from there the story really takes off. Borrowing the same isometric approach that the Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics games have enjoyed over the years, Disgaea isn't aimed at the novice RPG crowd. As a result, the multitude of menus, items types, weapon categories, and other such factors may seem a bit intimidating to the laymen.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness is an RPG that falls squarely into a special and distinct subgenre. The format of Disgaea is very similar to games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Vandal Hearts, Tactics Ogre, and so on. For the uninitiated, these games can be described as "Tactical-Battle" RPGs. Their distinguishing characteristics include a heavy focus on character building, item collection, and turn-based battles that take place almost exclusively on isometrically projected grids. Unlike the traditional console RPG, exploration is practically nonexistent, and story elements tend to be more diversionary. Read More »

Specifications

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Features

Use over 100 mind blowing spells and special skills to destroy your enemies; New Formation Attack System allows up to 4 of your characters to do quadruple the damage on one enemy! ; Customize your army with over 150 character classes and monsters! ; Never before seen gameplay elements add a new dimension of strategy! Throw enemy or friendly characters to achieve a tactical advantage over your adversaries! Use the environmental Geo Panels to decimate an entire army! ; Open a dimensional portal into the Item World and do battle there to increase the power of your weapons! ; Over 40 hours of gameplay with multiple endings!